UAE reports illnesses linked to contaminated water after biggest floods in 75 years

Cars stranded in floodwaters following heavy rainfall, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Cars stranded in floodwaters following heavy rainfall, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo credit: Reuters / Amr Alfiky.

A small number of people in the United Arab Emirates have shown symptoms associated with contaminated water after heavy rains and floods, the health ministry said.

The statement, carried by the state news agency late on Wednesday, did not say exactly how many people had been affected or what exactly they were treated for.

There have been "a very limited number of cases that showed some symptoms of being affected by the mixed water" and they received hospital treatment, the ministry said.

It did not say what the water had been contaminated with.

The UAE was hit by record rains on April 16 that brought parts of the Gulf country to a standstill, heavily flooding some neighbourhoods, including in Dubai and northern cities.

Four people died in the floods.

REUTERS